The Flaws Of Reality
by MythicWolf04
Summary: Crippled and shipwrecked with nobody but himself and who he thought was his greatest rival, Fox was truly scared for the first time in his life. He couldn't remember how he'd ended up in this perilous situation, and the only one who could help him was Wolf O'Donnell. The vulpine would then learn more than he ever thought he would know about his rival, as well as his own fears.
1. Typhoon

The fall hurt him more than he would like to admit.

He didn't know what happened to him, but it all went so fast… he went down too fast. It was a whirlwind of fire and brimstone, with him caught in the eye of the storm where there was no escape, both literally and figuratively.

First, he felt pain of which he had never experienced before, and then he heard the sound of plasma and smelled ozone in the air coming from the shattered cockpit glass. He realized, then, that was death knocking at his door.

Until it wasn't.

He felt the impact of his fighter hitting the ground, and then he only saw blackness.

* * *

The vulpine awoke to an incredibly sharp pain in his head and right arm, his eyes snapping open and voice trying to make a sound, but only ending in a choked scream. Fox scanned his surroundings quickly to find his arm crushed underneath a part of his cockpit, and noted light filtering in above him from the dense cover of foliage.

"…elp," he tried shouting to no avail, coughing up a few droplets of blood after he uttered the noise. Cursing himself mentally, Fox took a breath and scanned over the rest of his body.

The vulpine found that nothing else was hurt terribly, nothing that he could see anyway, but he couldn't move with the bulkhead of his Arwing caved in on itself. His fighter was completely totalled, and he couldn't exactly tell where he was, either.

Coughing and grunting in pain once more, Fox tried recalling what had led him here, but he couldn't piece together what had happened in the sky. Bits and pieces about a mission with his crew, and the word "attrition" kept flitting through his psyche like an annoying fly on his pelt. There wasn't much he could remember, but it probably wasn't a big deal.

Taking another moment to calm himself, the vulpine focused on his surroundings, and noted all of the massive trees that took up his entire line of sight. Judging by the intense background noise of bugs and other local wildlife, he could safely assume he was stranded somewhere on Fortuna with a destroyed fighter and a possibly shattered arm.

"…s' an' one there?" Fox tried asking again, his vocal cords a tad bit more responsive than his last try. He growled to himself internally, realizing how helpless he was in his situation.

The vulpine looked over his control panel to see if anything was in any sort of semblance of functioning, but it was all totalled. Fox could say with complete certainly that he was screwed.

He didn't know how long he lay there uselessly, staring up at the thick green cloud of leaves above him, but as he did, flashes of the color grey seemed to constantly float through his thought process, interrupting it every once in a while. Fox was frustrated that he couldn't even remember how he crashed, or anything before that.

The vulpine cleared his throat once more, hacking a few more flecks of blood up, and decided to try calling out again.

"I need some help, I'm stuck! Is… any-" he started coughing again, his throat feeling like the inside of a furnace.

"Hey, is someone there?" Fox heard a voice shout from what sounded like a distance away. He couldn't discern who it belonged to, but it was male.

"…ver 'ere!" The vulpine exclaimed, his throat protesting painfully as he tried raising his uninjured arm above the shattered cockpit window.

"I… I see you, I'm trying to get-" the disembodied voice cut off abruptly, making Fox worry that something happened to the other man, but then he heard rapid footsteps crunching on leaves and getting louder.

He waited in tense silence for another moment, and then breaking the veil of tension came a white muzzle appearing in Fox's direct line of sight, making his eyes readjust.

And then he realized who was in front of him, looking through the broken cockpit at the injured vulpine with a shocked expression. It was Wolf O'Donnell himself, sans eyepatch and part of his left ear cut open.

"You…" Fox croaked, fear clouding his mind as he struggled to escape the Arwing wreckage, but that only made his pain worsen, and he screamed in agony.

"Whoa, whoa, you need to calm down, pup! Don't you remember, we're working together?" The lupine murmured, his head cocked to the side in confusion.

A million questions flashed through the vulpine's head at that moment, the loudest one being _W_ _hy is he lying to me like that?_ Fox didn't see any hint of dishonesty in Wolf's face, however, only concern and a small bit of anxiety.

He knew Wolf wasn't a complete monster thanks to the aparoid invasion all those months ago showing off a better side in him, but he was still unsure of who the canid really was.

"Wha… are you talkin' bout?" The vulpine rasped, trying to come up with any logical explanation as to how that could be true. The most obvious one is that something important occurred between the two in recent memory that he couldn't remember.

"We were both hired to do the same job. You should know this, what happened to you?" The lupine asked, ears pinned to the back of his head.

"Can't 'member. Crashed… hit 'ead. Help me firs'," Fox croaked, tears stinging his eyes from the immense amount of physical trauma he was in.

"Yeah, okay," Wolf answered, resting a palm on his head for a moment before he leaned down and over to where Fox's arm was crushed.

A primal part of the vulpine wanted to fight back at Wolf, but he smothered it, knowing the grey canid was just trying to be helpful, even if it made absolutely no sense to him.

After a few minutes and more than a few grunts of exertion from Wolf, the vulpine felt his arm being gingerly moved away from its original position, and he felt a flash of fire go through his body. He screamed loudly, clutching at the nearest thing to him with his working arm for support, which happened to be the lupine hovering over him.

"D-damn, that's a really strong grip, pup," he chuckled, trying to distract Fox from the pain.

Fox tried to grin, but he didn't have the heart to as he let the lupine go. He tried to move his legs, but he found that he couldn't. "I can't feel my legs," he whispered, finding that talking quietly didn't hurt him.

"Man, those Venomians really messed you up," Wolf remarked, carefully picking the vulpine up out of the Arwing wreckage. Fox froze, his mind not quite comprehending what he just heard.

"Did you just say Venomians?" He whispered in terror, staring up at the other canine with a pleading expression.

Wolf sighed heavily, leaving the smoldering wreckage of the Arwing behind as he trotted off through the forest, injured vulpine in his arms. "You really don't remember anything, huh?" Fox shook his head. "All we know about them is that they just popped up out of nowhere, claiming to be 'heralding the return of their great savior' and started another war," he explained quickly.

Fox nodded, but he was still incredibly confused and frustrated. Oh, how he wished he could remember what happened!

"Did you crash too?" The vulpine murmured softly, looking down at his broken arm. It hung limply on his stomach, the bone protruding out of his skin.

"I did, but my Wolfen is still relatively intact. I've got first aid ready for you, pup," replied the other canine.

Wolf continued traveling as the two descended into a relatively uncomfortable silence, Fox trying to figure out if he could really be trusted or not. The lupine had every opportunity right now to lie to him about his memory loss, but it felt like he wasn't. At this point, he just had to wait and see.

With nothing else to do, the vulpine looked up at Wolf, studying his face without the eyepatch. The eye that was normally covered was now visible, and it had a large scar that looked like it came from a claw slashed over it, but it was open, revealing a milky white eye with a light grey iris barely visible. Fox wondered what tragedy could've caused such an awful wound.

"We're rivals. Why are you working with my team? Is your team with them?" Why are you helping me in particular?

"I'm working with them because I realized we need to put our differences aside for the greater good, and you did too," Wolf started. Fox hummed in response. He understood a little better now, and the situation must be very bad if the lupine was willing to work with Star Fox. "And it's just me and Panther now, by the way. Leon quite literally vanished a while back. He never was one to be a good guy, so he left."

"I see," the vulpine stated simply, thoughts in his head rolling around like ships in a vast and tumultuous ocean.

After a few more moments of the lupine stumbling through the jungle, the two came upon the Wolfen… or what was left of it anyway. It had crashed partway into a tree, and the left wing had crumpled down, but other than that, it looked relatively intact. Wolf set Fox down against that same tree by the ship and started to root through the cockpit for something.

"A few of the basic electronics systems were still functional after the crash, so I set up an SOS beacon so someone can find us," the grey canid explained as he dug through the cockpit. Fox nodded, glad that they had a way off of Fortuna.

"How long do you think it'll be until someone finds us?" The vulpine murmured as Wolf climbed back out of the fighter with a first aid kit.

"I'm not sure. We've been stuck here for a little while now, maybe a whole day. It could be soon, it could be a while away," he replied with a shrug, taking some alcohol and a cotton ball out of the kit.

He poured the alcohol on the ball and started applying it to Fox's wounds, making him hiss in pain. He knew it was to disinfect the wound, but that didn't mean it was comfortable. Wolf chuckled, putting bandages and gauze on the most present wounds. Fox knew there wasn't much he could do for the broken limb except set it, though.

"I'm going to see if I can set the bone, so we need a splint. While I'm doing that, try moving your legs. We need you walking if we're gonna survive, pup," Wolf pointed out after putting the last of the gauze on his injuries.

The vulpine grimaced, realizing what was about to happen. If he wanted the bone to grow back properly, Wolf was going to have to push the to halves back into place. He wasn't looking forward to that.

While Fox tried moving his feet and legs, which seemed to have a positive effect, as his toes started moving around, he took some time to reflect on Wolf's actions. He didn't understand why the lupine would be so kind to him, even if they had come to an agreement beforehand that he couldn't remember. The grey canid was being much gentler than Fox had ever seen before, and it was certainly a confusing sight. Fox sighed, a small part of his head still worried that Wolf was plotting to hurt or kill him.

"I'm gonna set the bone now," the lupine stated, ripping the vulpine from his thought process. He nodded, preparing himself for the worst.

With a crunching noise and a loud grunt, Wolf quickly shoved the protruding bone back into the place it should go, making Fox scream in agony, his arm erupting in pain. He clenched his teeth and grabbed onto one of the lupine's arms roughly when he finished, tears falling from his eyes.

"Damn it!" He shouted, panting heavily and letting go of the arm. He ended up coughing, his throat constricting painfully again. The vulpine tried to regulate his breathing while Wolf set about making a splint for the arm.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that pain," the lupine murmured, shocking Fox. Why was he apologizing to his greatest rival? What happened to him in that gap of memory?

"Wolf wouldn't be kind to me. Why are you like this? You should despise me and everything I stand for, yet you're helping me? Why are you doing all this?" The younger pilot asked, anger and confusion laden in his voice.

Wolf chuckled as he wrapped gauze around the splint on Fox's arm. "Again, it's in that gap of yours. I fucked up at one point during the briefing of this mission we were supposed to be on, and you shouted at me so much I realized how much of an asshole I was. We settled our differences," he explained with a shrug as if it wasn't a big deal.

The vulpine put a hand to the side of his head, more and more questions popping up in his head. "How big is this gap in my memory if I can't remember any of what you're saying?" He asked, dread spilling into his voice while he reached over and clutched even more fiercely than before at Wolf's forearm.

The lupine scratched his undamaged ear while he was thinking, a frown forming on his face. As those few seconds passed, his face descended into one of realization and fear.

"This mission we've been on, it's really long term. It's been over a month since we've been hired by Pepper, Fox," Wolf explained, worry etched onto his face.

Fox balked, his stomach climbing into his throat. He couldn't remember a month's worth of memory. How much had changed in that month? What had happened to the system?

What happened to him?

* * *

A/N: Been a while, hasn't it? I took a break from writing for a bit after finishing Heat, and after a bit, I'm back and ready to write another multi chapter fic. Hope you guys like what I'm doing so far.


	2. Something To Believe In

Fox couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He lost a whole month of his memory in that crash, and in that month, he'd somehow befriended his greatest rival? Nothing made sense anymore, but he couldn't change anything. The vulpine just had to keep moving forward and hope there was a way to get those missing memories back.

"Is that SOS beacon of yours broadcasting on all frequencies, Wolf?" He asked, trying to ignore thinking about the revelation while he continued to work on moving his feet and legs.

"Unfortunately, it is. I don't have enough resources to adjust it; I used the last of the Wolfen's auxiliary power to make it. Anyone can come find us now," Wolf replied with a sigh, kicking at the the ground.

Fox could freely move his feet and ankles now, but there was still the problem that was his lower legs and knees. They just weren't budging at the moment, and he huffed angrily, upset that he was so useless. The vulpine hadn't ever been like this before, he was always at the center of the action, avoiding fire and danger like the professional mercenary he was, not taking it all like sledgehammers to a brick wall.

"Let's hope my team gets to us first, then," Fox murmured, not wanting to consider the alternative outcome to their perilous situation.

The other canine nodded, moving over and sitting down next to Fox against the tree trunk. He looked over at Wolf curiously, still cautious as to what he could be up to. There was still that ever prevalent voice in the back of his head that said not to trust Wolf, that he could be lying, but that voice could be ignored.

It could, couldn't it?

The vulpine shook his thoughts away, trying to move his knees again and failing once more. He growled with frustration, not understanding why it was so difficult to do a simple movement. He didn't understand how he managed to get shot down in a fight, because he'd never been shot down before!

"You'll get it soon, I'm sure you will. Just keep trying to do it," Wolf encouraged, resting a hand on his shoulder as he spoke. This elicited a negative response from Fox, as he tensed up and looked over with a gaze of apprehension. The other canine lowered his hand with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, you probably don't trust me right now, but if I lost my memory, I wouldn't either, I suppose," Wolf remarked, an unreadable expression on his face. Was it disappointment?

"I- it's fine. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this. I probably will for a while," replied Fox with a shrug.

With the conversation over, the vulpine went back to trying to move his legs once more. Fox knew the paralysis wasn't permanent since he could move his feet, but it was annoying nonetheless. As he sat there, he also wondered when the two of them would be rescued by the Great Fox. If they were both important, then it shouldn't take them long to find the two on Fortuna, especially if there was an SOS beacon active.

How long had it been since that had activated, anyway?

Fox then asked the same question, to which Wolf responded, "A day or so. It shouldn't be long until your team finds us, but it is still fairly concerning. I hope they're alright."

"We did crash mid fight, according to you, but I hope the same," the other canid murmured, rotating his ankles. They moved easily, and his knees were starting to bend as well, but the joints were stiff and still fairly unresponsive.

"Help me stand up, I need to try walking," Fox said, holding his hand out for help. Wolf nodded, getting up from beside him and taking the hand, helping him up.

The vulpine held onto the hand, finding that he could stand up fairly easily, although the muscles were stiff and fairly sore. He grimaced, trying to take a step, but the knee buckled as he set it down, and Fox fell with a yelp.

Well, he would've fallen, if it wasn't for Wolf catching him at the last moment. Fox breathed a sigh of relief, for once glad that the other man was there by his side. He helped the vulpine up, and Fox wrapped an arm around his shoulders for support.

"You should really be more careful," the grey canine remarked, causing Fox to growl in frustration. He tried taking a step with Wolf's help this time, and found that he could, although his leg was shaky.

He tried taking another, and found that it was slightly easier, his knees starting to cooperate with him. Fox smiled, continuing to take steps with Wolf's help, who just walked along with him. As they walked along, he slowly reduced the grip on the other man's shoulder, his walking becoming easier and easier to manage. He chuckled softly.

"I'm walking, I'm doing it!" Fox exclaimed, laughing as he let go of Wolf for the first time and took a successful, unaided step.

"That's the first time I've seen you laughing in a while…" the lupine remarked offhandedly, causing the other canine to turn and look at him with a million questions written on his face.

"What are you-" Fox was cut off by the sound of a spacecraft's engine roaring from the midday skies above the trees, making birds and other creatures erupt in a cacophony of noise.

"Is that our ride?" He asked, forgetting about the previous topic while a bit of hope filled his chest. Did his team find the two of them?

"I don't know, I can't see the craft, but be careful! We don't know for sure whether it's our friends or not!" Wolf shouted over the increasing volume of the engines, meaning that ship was getting closer.

The two walked back to the wrecked Wolfen slowly, Fox taking the time to listen carefully to that engine. It sounded too… loud to be any of his team's fighters, including the Wolfens and Great Fox. A pit of dread formed in the bottom of his stomach as he realized just what it most likely was.

Fox swallowed heavily. "Those are-"

"Venomians. Shit," Wolf finished with a growl, diving into his Wolfen to dig around in it for something.

"What are you doing, Wolf?" The orange canid questioned nervously, getting more apprehensive as the seconds ticked by.

"Getting a bag of supplies. We aren't sticking around the wreck; this is the first place those idiots are going to check when they land. Now come on, give me your hand," Wolf explained, offering his hand to the other man after he slung a bag of what Fox presumed were basic supplies around his shoulder. He took the hand, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to move fast enough without help.

"What happened to our team?" Fox asked, voice quivering in terror as the two started running away from the crash site, dodging bushes, trees, and other obstacles littered in the jungle.

"I- I don't know! Anything could've happened, Fox! Right now, we need to worry about ourselves, because our teammates aren't here and we're stranded," Wolf shot back with a glare over his shoulder.

The vulpine grimaced, his ears flattening to his head. He understood Wolf's reasoning, but that didn't mean Fox wasn't concerned for his friends up in the sky.

As the two fled, Fox noticed that he couldn't hear the Venomian fighter anymore, meaning they must have landed. They would begin a ground search soon, and there was a high chance they would be found. He knew he should hold out hope, but it was hard to do that considering the perilous situation they were in.

A while later, perhaps ten minutes or so, Wolf stopped the two of them next to a small pond in the middle of the jungle that rippled out like liquid glass with the flow of the wind. There wasn't much else around except massive, moss covered trees, so the splash of blue was a nice change of scenery. They panted from exertion, Fox's hands on his knees. He was thankful for the stop, but they'd have to continue on in a few moments.

The other man pulled a flask out of his bag, and crouched down in front of the body of water, filling it up to save for later. Nodding in satisfaction, Wolf screwed the cap on it and returned it to the bag, getting back up.

"Sorry for snapping at you back there, I was just scared for the both of us. I'm sure your friends are fine," the grey canid stated, but he didn't sound convinced by his own words.

Fox shook his head. "No, it's fine. You're trying to keep us alive, and that's admirable. I'm just… thankful that I'm not alone down here, otherwise I'd probably be dead," he replied, chuckling darkly.

"I would've come after you whether or not I'd crashed, and it doesn't matter what you think of me right now. I wouldn't have left you behind," Wolf stated with an emotion the orange canid couldn't place, his working eye brightening.

Fox was both surprised and touched by the show of affection from the other man. Something really softened him back then, but he wondered what it could possibly be. The vulpine then chose just to grin and nod.

"We should probably get going," he said awkwardly, starting to walk off away from the pond. Wolf caught up with him, and they continued away from the crash site.

The jungle gradually became eerily silent as time passed and midday turned into evening, when it should've become the opposite. Fox could've heard a pin drop, it was that quiet, and he looked over at his companion, who looked just as worried as he felt.

"How are we getting out of this one, Wolf? We're far from the beacon, and there are Venomians trudging around all over the place. What are we going to do?" The vulpine whispered as if something was stalking them nearby.

"I don't know, but we need to stay on our toes. Let's see if we can't find a place to lay low for the night, like a cave or something," Wolf answered, looking up at the sky through the foliage. It turned to a yellow and orange hue, the colors blending seamlessly together and offsetting the green leaves. It was something the vulpine would've taken the time to appreciate, had they not been in a life or death situation.

Fox started to take a better look at his direct surroundings, hoping to see a good hiding place. They were stranded in a jungle, and jungles had plenty of places to lie low, if you knew where to look that is. There were trees everywhere, but in his state, he wasn't sure he had the strength to neither climb nor hold onto one for an extended period of time. As for caves, however…

Fox's ears perked as he lay eyes on a cliff face a short distance to their east, barely visible through the trees and rapidly fading sunlight. He grinned, thankful for his sharp eyesight, and turned to Wolf.

"There's a cliff over there, to the east. I'd imagine that there are plenty of caves over there to hide in," the orange canid suggested, pointing in the direction of said cliff.

Wolf nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, pup. You've got really good eyesight to be able to catch that so easily," he pointed out as the two started in that direction.

"It's all just genetics, but thanks. It really helps up in the sky during dogfights and scouting missions. Sorry, I must sound really obnoxious," Fox muttered in embarassment, glancing over at Wolf's scarred eye in shame.

The other man shook his head, frowning. "Hey, it's not a big deal. I'm used to this part of me; it's been here for years," he replied, touching the myriad of scars unconsciously.

Fox wasn't sure what to say about that, so he opted to say nothing at all. Luckily, any awkward silence they might've shared was quickly dispelled by the two arriving at that infamous cliff face. It was really tall, perhaps thirty meters high, and incredibly smooth, enough so to make Fox wonder if the jungle used to be a sea at one point long in the past.

"There's a cave right there that looks like it would be a suitable place to hide for a while," Wolf stated suddenly, pointing to small opening about ten meters to their right that was hard to notice if you weren't looking for it.

There were a few boulders surrounding the opening, and bushes and some mosses were growing around it as well. The cave opening wasn't much taller than Wolf, and only about a meter wide in all. It would work perfectly for their purposes.

Fox nodded to himself, walking over to the cave entrance. He peered inside, but found that he couldn't see much of anything in it. "Does that bag of yours happen to contain a flashlight?" He asked, looking over at the other man next to him. Wolf nodded, reaching in the bag and handing him a black flashlight.

The orange canid switched it on and shone it into the cave mouth, taking a quick look over everything. He found that there wasn't anything inhabiting the space, and there wasn't a ton of room to work with. It would fit the two canines comfortably, with enough room for the both of them to move around a little in, but it wasn't a huge amount of space. The roof of the cave gradually sloped downward until it met the ground a distance away. All in all, if they just covered up the entrance a little more, it would be a suitable place to lay low for a while.

"This should keep us safe for a while, but we need to cover the entrance a little better. Let's see what we can use," Fox stated, switching the flashlight off and handing it back to Wolf.

The other man nodded in agreement, and the two looked around the direct vicinity for anything to use to better camouflage the area, staying conscious of their surroundings just in case. Fox ended up finding more moss to use to put over the boulders and make the cave floor more comfortable, and Wolf gathered some stones and piles of wood to better cover the cave. With a little manual labor, the two canines managed to conceal their hiding spot very well.

By the time they had finished, the sun was setting on Fortuna, wrapping the now silent jungle in a cloak of darkness, making the atmosphere all the more eerie and strange.

"Let's call it a night, I'm starting to get a little freaked out by all of this," the orange canid whispered uneasily, maneuvering around the barrier to enter the cave.

Wolf followed him inside, and the two sat on opposite sides of the cave, moving as far back into it as they could. Fox sighed heavily as he hit the floor, feeling exhaustion flood through his body.

"This is a pretty shitty situation, but at least I'm not alone," Wolf murmured quietly as the two adjusted to the darkness.

Fox lay down on the moss, turning to face his companion, who had done the same. Wolf has set the bag of supplies in between them, and kept a pistol next to it as well, which he didn't notice the other man had packed. What else was in there?

"That is very true, but this has all been… a lot to take in after such a short amount of time. Thanks for watching out for me," Fox replied with a smile, not feeling as scared as he was before. As much as that perplexed him, perhaps it was his psyche telling him that Wolf was to be trusted after all.

"I'd watch out for you under any circumstance. You'd be surprised what that time did to me. Your team turned me into a really big softie, pup," the other man remarked with a chuckle.

The two descended into a comfortable silence after that statement, but Fox still felt uneasy at the deafening silence, other than Wolf's breathing. He clenched his fists, realizing how much he took for granted the ambient noise of the Great Fox when he fell asleep every night.

"We'll be fine, Fox, I promise; just go to sleep. I'll take the first watch, if that makes you feel any better," Wolf said as if he read the vulpine's mind.

"Thank you," Fox muttered tiredly, curling into himself as he rested his head against the supply bag.

He may have been confused and terrified by the circumstances he was placed in, but with Wolf by his side and watching over him, Fox found that he was falling asleep a little easier. He smiled softly, slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, but this is probably going to be the norm for a while with this story. I hope you guys can understand, but I'm trying my hardest to make a new story. See you next chapter.


	3. All I Ask

Fox wasn't sure where he was.

He couldn't see anything, but he felt this sticky warm feeling crawling all over his fur, and he knew he didn't like it. It felt like he was being drowned in soup, and he couldn't breathe. Desperately, he clawed at the inky blackness around him, searching for something, anything to pull him out of that stickiness, but there was nothing. Fox was going to be consumed by this sickening heat, and he couldn't do anything-

The vulpine felt a hand close around his wrist, and violently pull him away from that haze and into a blinding light.

Fox shot up from the spot where he lay, shooting into consciousness and smacking his head on the cave roof. He yelped, pain blossoming through his skull.

"Whoa, Fox, are you alright? What happened?" Wolf questioned, turning sharply from the mouth of the cave to shoot the vulpine a concerned look.

"Jus' a dream, s'nothing wrong. Ow," Fox slurred, rubbing at his head as he sat up. That was certainly going to turn into a bruise.

"If you say so, pup. What was the dream about?" The grey canid questioned further, edging a little closer to his companion who was busy rubbing his eyes.

"I can't really remember, I just know it was uncomfortable." Fox looked behind Wolf to see morning sunlight filtering into the small cave. He'd let the vulpine sleep all night while he took watch? "Why didn't you let me take watch?" He asked, perplexed by the other's action.

"I knew you'd need the sleep more than me, and I'm a heavy sleeper as well. If there was danger around, you wouldn't be able to wake me up at all," Wolf answered sheepishly, looking away and scratching his cheek.

"Oh." Fox snickered at the statement. "Did you see or hear any Venomians last night?" He asked as he started to crawl out of the cave, the journey made all the more awkward by his arm splint being unwieldy. The lupine stood up, looking back out of the cave, his arms crossed defensively.

"I didn't, but apprehension kept me alert through the whole night. I was so sure they'd find us last night, but if they didn't then, they certainly will today if we stay here," Wolf answered, undertones of worry slicing through a confident facade he was trying to hold up.

"We should get moving, then. Do you have any ideas as to where we should go today?" Fox questioned, reaching back to grab the bag of supplies they'd left on the cave floor. He slung it around his shoulder and proceeded to crawl out of the cave, stretching his arms and legs when he was finally able to stand up next to Wolf.

He sighed heavily. "If I'm honest, I really have no clue where we should go. There aren't any settlements on this planet, aside from the occasional military base, but those are too far away from us to be any help. As it is, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place," the grey canid stated in defeat, pressing a hand to his temple.

"Are we just delaying the inevitable, then?" Fox wondered aloud, looking out at the morning light filtering into the jungle, making the greenery look even more vibrant than it was already, if that was even possible.

"We might be," Wolf replied, scratching his chin. "We have no way of contacting the outside world, so as far as we know, your friends aren't coming to save us this time, and the Venomians will find us eventually. They're nothing if not persistent as hell, that's for sure."

"So what, we should give up, then?" Fox asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he set his hands on his hips.

"I honestly can't see another way out of this shitty situation. No ship, no communication, not much food… we're dead in the water, pup. We don't have much of a choice, and the supplies in that bag will only last a day or three," Wolf remarked, his ears flattening. He stepped out of the makeshift cave camouflage and into the jungle, the vulpine following behind him.

Fox sighed in defeat, reaching the same conclusion he did after a moment of mulling his previous statement over. "We should go find them then, come on," he said, starting to travel away from the cave and back the direction they'd come, Wolf following after a moment's hesitation.

"I wasn't expecting you to give up so easily, pup. Isn't that a bit out of character for you?" The lupine asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that they'd unintentionally formed.

"Like you just said, we don't have much of a choice, and I don't feel comfortable not knowing what my team is doing right now. Let's just hope they don't kill us," Fox answered with a tired shrug, glancing back for a moment before continuing on his path.

With all of their hope and drive lost, the two canines felt completely deflated. Fox had never been in a situation like this before; he was always so careful when he took up missions, and now he was in the worst case scenario. Perhaps the Cornerian Army would show up to save his ass, but that was incredibly doubtful.

Fox also had a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that Wolf wasn't telling him the full truth about their predicament, but he wasn't sure what it could possibly be. Unfortunately, the lupine had every opportunity to plant lies in his head, or at the very least omit something he could've done in that missing month.

Fox stopped when he heard shouting coming from nearby, Wolf coming to a halt next to him. It must be the Venomian search party! The two crouched behind some nearby bushes, wordlessly deciding to assess the situation before jumping headfirst into it. They peeked their heads over the leaves, glancing around for the source of the noise.

Wolf was the first to notice it, pointing to a Venomian foot soldier clad in a red uniform running through the dense greenery away from their position, gun held up, as if he was ready to engage in combat. That didn't make any sense; there shouldn't be anything else on the planet… right?

Just a second later, Fox heard the familiar crack of a plasma rifle being fired, and then again, and again. What could possibly be happening over there?

"I don't know who they're fighting, I can't see anything!" Wolf hissed frustratedly, peeking over their cover to get a glimpse at whatever he could.

"Do you think it could be my team?" The vulpine questioned, doing the same as the lupine. He shrugged, squinting.

"I can't tell through the tree cover. We're just going to have to get closer to them. Come on," the grey canid replied, getting up and leaping over the cover, headed towards the source of the noise, Fox at his heels.

As they ran, Fox managed to get a few cuts on his arms from failing to dodge spindly little branches that got in his path. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing the flight jacket he normally had on, as instead it was the one he'd used during his mission in Sauria. It was a minor annoyance for him, but still one nonetheless. They kept on, and the sound of gunshots was getting louder, as well as the sound of shouting. People were dying, the vulpine realized with a grimace.

Wolf burst out into a rare clearing in between the foliage, Fox right after him, and what the two saw was battlefield of Venomian and Cornerian soldiers engaged in a firefight, with the two mercenaries caught in the middle.

"Get back, Fox!" Wolf hissed, drawing his pistol from the folds of his coat, pointing it in the general direction of the Venomians, shooting with one hand and pushing Fox back with the other.

"Come on, let's go join the Cornerians, they can help us!" The vulpine exclaimed, trying to circle around to their position, but Wolf grabbed his wrist before he could do anything. He looked up at the lupine questioningly as he shot at the Venomians. Both sides had clearly taken notice of the two now.

"Wait, there's something I haven't told you, and I should've." Wolf dragged Fox back into the treeline, taking refuge behind a tree. He looked up at his rival, not sure whether to be angry or not yet.

"The Cornerians are after us, as well, okay? Something... happened to their leadership, and shortly after this war started, they put a bounty on the entire team's head," the grey canid explained grimly, guilt heavy in his eyes as he spoke. Fox really wasn't sure whether or not to be mad at his dishonesty now.

A million questions flowed through his head like a rushing stream down a mountain. How could this be possible? What happened to Pepper? Was Wolf being truthful? What the hell had occurred in that gap of memory?

Instead, he decided to worry about that later, and focus on the present. He took a deep breath, shoving those thoughts into the back of his head. "Then we've got two choices to be captured by. Venomians or Cornerians?" Fox asked, annoyance dripping in his tone as he looked up at the taller lupine.

"Cornerians. I think it'll be easier to find our what's going on with them if we get captured, and I think they'll be slightly more benevolent than the apes," Wolf replied with a huff. The two shared a nod, and ran back into the fray, keeping their distance from both sides as Wolf continued his assault on the now shrinking Venomian side.

Fox was rather miffed that he couldn't help Wolf out, but he did end up taking note of the lupine's technique. He kept behind cover whenever possible, and seemed to predict the enemy's exact moments the second he shot up from the cover, and that was all while protecting Fox and keeping him close. He never really considered how well his rival performed on the ground, but now he was a little intimidated by the other canine's skill.

The firefight didn't last too much longer, with Wolf joining the fray it didn't take long at all to clear the Venomians out, and the few soldiers that weren't dead on the ground retreated back into the jungle for cover. Sighing in relief, Wolf motioned for Fox to get up from their current position, a fallen tree in the middle of the clearing, and face the Cornerian dogs.

The remainder of the army, more or less a few dozen soldiers now pointed their guns at the pair of mercenaries. They both put their hands up, and Wolf dropped his gun.

"Is it really them? They're actually Fox McCloud and Wolf O'Donnell?" Fox heard a few of the dogs whispering as they surrounded him. He rolled his eyes at their bewilderment.

"I don't suppose you'll just let us go for our help, will you?" Fox asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes as a soldier pulled out a pair of handcuffs and proceeded to restrain him. Or, well… they tried to. His broken arm got in the way of being cuffed, so they just hooked the free cuff onto Wolf's right wrist with the ones he already had on. He also took the bag off of the vulpine roughly, much to the latter's annoyance.

"Not a chance, you two are worth too much to the General," the offending Cornerian replied stiffly, moving over to cuff Wolf once he'd finished with the vulpine.

"Shit. What does Pepper want with us, anyway?" He tried asking, but nobody responded, eliciting a growl of frustration from Fox.

After they'd finished cuffing Wolf, the soldiers formed a block around the two canines, situating them right in the center, and set off towards the south, most likely to whatever ship they'd arrived in. Fox looked down at his feet as they meandered along, resigned to the situation as a whole. Wolf had just saved everyone from a massacre, and this is how they were repayed, with capture and nothing more than indifferent glares? How fair was that?

If Fox was honest, he was expecting the Cornerians to feel more… menacing and scary after Wolf explained what had happened in the gap, but they were just normal foot soldiers. They were just following orders from the higher ups, and that was most likely where changes could be seen seeping through cracks in their masks.

Speaking of Wolf… Fox wasn't sure how to feel at him hiding things from the vulpine just because he knew he could get away with it. Was it for his own protection, or was it for Wolf's own selfish needs? He couldn't tell, but he really hoped it was the former option. The orange canid really wanted to be able to trust Wolf, but the way things had played out so far, he wasn't sure he could at all. He'd just have to play it by ear for the time being.

Before the two knew it, they'd been strapped into a troop transport of some kind, away from the other soldiers and by the large bay doors. Seats lined both walls, and the Cornerians all sat on the opposite walls. The vulpine imagined the transport was full of soldiers when they arrived on Fortuna.

Fox then rested his head against Wolf's shoulder after a moments hesitation, but he was too tired to care. He just needed a break from the constant action. The lupine breathed out a heavy sigh as well. The two stayed silent, the lack of any noise whatsoever proving to thicken the air considerably.

Wolf cleared his throat suddenly, looking at the soldiers across from them. "Where are you taking us?" He asked calmly, cocking his head slightly as he stared at the dog directly in front of him. He looked away, not meeting the lupine's gaze.

"We are taking you two back to Corneria for imprisonment and questioning. You both have a lot of things to explain to the General, you know," one of the other canine soldiers stated, crossing his arms.

Wolf sighed again, settling back into his seat to wait out the long ride. Fox could hear the engines starting, and the drop in his stomach told him they'd just taken off. The slow march to Corneria, and to further answers awaited him now. He wondered why Pepper would do this; wasn't Fox his friend? Surely he would've been okay with his team harboring Wolf's, right?

And despite the numerous questions in Fox's head, he felt exhaustion creeping up on him, and his eyelids drooped heavily. He really needed some sleep, and suddenly, Wolf's shoulder didn't seem like it was that bad of a pillow. He lay on it once more, and closed his eyes, finding sleep quickly and easily. Fox's troubles melted away temporarily in that veil of quiet, but one remained in his head despite that.

Is Wolf O'Donnell really trustworthy?

A/N: Sorry for the huge space since the last update of this story, I've just been busy. I'll try to write more, but I've got enough to worry about in my life as is. Just remember that I'm not abandoning this story, no matter how long a wait might be.


	4. Hurricane Drunk

Fox couldn't see anything but white. There was nothing but bright blinding white for as far as he could see, and the light blotted out his own hands, it was so bad. He tried calling out for someone to tell him where he was, but he got no response. Frowning, the vulpine stumbled forward, trying to find anything else out in the light.

After what could've been either seconds or hours of groping around uselessly, Fox noticed black spots forming in his vision, starting to blot out the light. They were little pinpricks of pure, unrelenting darkness, and they grew larger and larger the more they appeared and they seemed to suck the very oxygen out of the air and Fox couldn't breathe anymore and-

The vulpine was knocked to the ground by an invisible force, almost like a punch to the gut, and he shut his eyes in pain. When he reopened them, he was looking up at a dark grey sky, clouds floating aimlessly up in the atmosphere. Where was he?

He tried getting up, but he couldn't move his limbs at all. Craning his neck, Fox saw that they were chained onto a large slab of stone, with him positioned in the middle of it. Looking back up, the orange canid noted what looked to be blood red vultures circling the sky above him. A moment later, they all swooped down towards the vulpine and landed at his side, eyeing him greedily.

Fox swallowed heavily, knowing what was about to occur, and before he knew it, they were tearing into his stomach hungrily, eating whatever they could. The vulpine let out a strangled scream, tears falling down his face as his stomach erupted in immense pain.

Before Fox blacked out, he saw the sky change from grey to bright purple, and it seemed to almost stare back at him.

* * *

Fox started awake, mouth open in a quiet scream and hands clenched so tightly his palms bled. His process of waking up was rather explosive with him tugging against the restraints of the seat, and by extension, Wolf. He panted heavily as he took stock of his surroundings, the memory of being captured by the Cornerians coming back to him.

"Fox? What's wrong, are you okay?" Wolf asked from beside the vulpine, concerned look on his face. Fox calmed down at seeing the expression on the other canine's face, and his face heated up when he realized that all of the soldiers were staring at him oddly.

"Another nightmare, don't wanna talk 'bout it," Fox mumbled, closing his eyes and sitting back against the seat. He certainly hoped those weren't going to become a recurring thing.

"That's fine, it's okay," Wolf replied, trying to move his hand, but those handcuffs prevented him from doing anything but looking stupid in the attempt.

"How long have I been out, Wolf?" The orange canid wondered, staring down at his combat boots with a small frown on his face.

The lupine hummed, his ears twitching in thought. "Maybe three or four hours. I can't exactly tell where we are, unfortunately," he murmured, noting the distinct absence of windows in the bay. Fox sighed, slumping even further down into the seat, if that were somehow possible.

"I just want answers to all this," he stated frustratedly, pulling at the white tuft of fur on the top of his head. Wolf nodded in agreement, amused smile on his face.

"We'll get them soon, whether we like it or not. We're probably close to Corneria by now; Fortuna isn't all the way across the Lylat System," the lupine remarked.

Fox didn't reply, instead settling back into his seat. He looked down to his unbroken arm where it was cuffed to Wolf's, and he sighed. He still didn't understand how he'd gotten himself into this mess, and Wolf either didn't as well or was keeping secrets. So far, the lupine had done nothing to betray his trust, instead being openly helpful and concerning for once, but a nagging voice in the back of his head said he was just going to betray Fox.

The vulpine didn't want to listen to it, because he had to admit, Wolf was a pretty charismatic guy when he wasn't trying to shoot him down. Under that rough exterior there really was a nice… well, nicer person than before. But that brought up the question of why Wolf was shedding his cold exterior to Fox. Just how close had they become in that month?

Fox's confused thoughts continued to wander aimlessly for a while until the telltale shaking and rattling of a ship breaching the atmosphere of a planet yanked him out of the process. He held his breath during the ordeal, his hand clenching reflexively; he hated planetary entry so much. The shaking never sat well with him and he always thought he'd crash or burn up and explode or-

"Fox?" Wolf asked quietly, his fingers brushing against the vulpine's hand to get his attention. He swallowed heavily, looking over at him.

"What's wrong, Fox?" He questioned again, searching the other canine's face for an answer. Fox's breath hitched when the ship lurched once more.

"I hate reentry, I always have. I don't know why, I just get so scared when I have to do this," the vulpine answered shakily, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hey, look at me. It's fine, you shouldn't be scared of this, this is nothing. You shot me down plenty of times, what's a little turbulence compared to that?" Wolf asked, laughing a little at his joke. Fox found himself laughing along a little as well, despite how bad and misplaced the comfort felt. At least he was… trying to help him out?

The orange canid managed to calm down a little, and a moment after that, the turbulence stopped and he unclenched his hands, claws no longer sinking into his flesh. He winced in pain, noticing that he drew blood this time. Fox swore he was going to have scars with the amount he had been doing that, at least before his memory gap.

Another few moments passed by without problem, and finally, Fox felt the telltale rumble of the ship starting to land. He waited with apprehension as the ship took it's time setting down, and the Cornerians soldiers got up out of their seats, opening the bay doors. A few of the men walked over to the mercenaries and pulled them out of their seats and roughly moved them along, guns at their backs.

Fox had to blink to adjust to the harsh daylight of the outside and the glare of the sun off of the skyscrapers. There was no denying it; he and Wolf were delivered to the capital of Corneria, on the roof of what he assumed was General Pepper's headquarters. Most of the soldiers went a different direction, taking another type of transport off of the roof, but four soldiers stuck around to escort Fox and Wolf.

Before he had any time to react to his surroundings, they were taken inside and away from the daylight once more through a large roof access doorway. It led into a stairwell, and the group took it down a few floors before they went through another door and ended up in a blank grey hall, two large doors on either side.

The soldiers shoved the canines towards the door on the left, and Wolf snarled at the one who happened to be unfortunate enough to be closest to him, gnashing his teeth. The soldier yelped, but did nothing to Wolf afterwards, just continuing to lead them on.

The men opened the doors and herded Fox and Wolf inside, where they were met with the setting of a large, spacious and rather rustic looking office. The walls were made of a rich mahogany, starkly contrasting the drab metal of the outside hall. There were plenty of windows providing natural light, as well as more than a few self-portraits of Pepper, most likely there to boost his already inflated ego.

And speak of the General, there the dog was in the middle of the room sitting at his oversized desk and cleaning a pistol while humming a tune of some sort. He looked up over his sunglasses at the new arrivals, a grin on his face.

"General, we brought the mercenaries you asked for, Fox and Wolf," the soldier to Fox's left stated briskly, he and the others raising their hands in a salute he'd never seen before. They held their fists to their chests and moved them up the side of their faces before bringing them back to their sides. It was quite odd; Fox hadn't ever seen it before, and he'd been to the Academy.

"Ah, thank you! I'll be sure to reward you and your comrades soon enough, but for now, just stand guard outside while I have a chat with our new arrivals, alright?" Pepper asked, that same cheerful demeanor about him. Fox didn't know what he was expecting to see from the General, but this certainly wasn't it.

The soldiers nodded and quickly made their exit, leaving the three canines alone in the spacious and intimidating office, Pepper smiling happily at his new prisoners. The vulpine still wasn't sure how to peg him, insane or normal… or just plain different. The dog gestured for them to sit down in the two chairs opposite him, and they did as best they could while still handcuffed together.

"So how are you two doing? The war treating you well?" Pepper questioned casually, going back to cleaning his pistol.

"Are… are you serious?" Wolf asked, his voice raised as he stared incredulously at the dog across from them. "You chased us halfway across this damn system while we're already trying to fight your war, you put a bounty on our heads, and you nearly kill Fox and the rest of us plenty of times, and you have the gall to ask us how well we are? Are you serious?" He snarled, hackles raised and fangs bared at Pepper. Fox shrunk back from him a bit, startled by the aggressive display.

The General set his pistol down, readjusting his sunglasses. "I was just trying to make small talk. You mercenaries these days, all about getting to the point. Fine, we'll do it your way, Wolf," he replied, getting up from his seat.

"Your team is a danger to society, Fox. You have no discipline and you take stupid risks, and quite frankly, you're going to get innocent people killed. It was my best option to have you apprehended," Pepper explained, pacing over to the other side of the desk.

"Are you serious? All these people dying is your fault for provoking the Venomians! They were content to stay on Venom and enjoy a peaceful life, but you provoked them again, and now they have more power than ever before! You caused this war, Pepper, and you hired Fox's team to stop it!" Wolf shouted, standing up to face the bloodhound, Fox being dragged up with him in the process.

"Funny, I haven't heard Fox's input yet. Save your anger, Wolf, because I've no mind to listen to you. Let Fox speak," the General murmured dangerously, his mood shifting like a storm front moving over the land.

The vulpine swallowed heavily, staring up at him. Sometimes he really hated how short he was. "I… I don't remember. I don't know why I'm fighting you, or this past month, but from what Wolf explained to me, what you're saying is bullshit," Fox stated, somehow finding his voice.

Pepper smiled down at him dangerously. "So you don't know why we're at war? You don't know why you're with Wolf? Oh, this is wonderful," he chuckled. The lupine moved in front of him protectively, glaring at the General.

"Back off," Wolf growled, taking a step forward.

"I'm afraid you're in no position to make demands, my dear Wolf." Pepper stroked his chin for a moment. "And speaking of Wolf, why would you trust him so easily, Fox? You've been his adversary since the Lylat Wars. How can you trust anything he's telling you? You don't even know why I want you, specifically, captured," he stated smugly.

"I…" Fox trailed off, realizing that Pepper was right. He didn't know why the General wanted him captured. He didn't know what Wolf's intentions truly were, because he couldn't remember.

"Fine. Why exactly do you want me?" He asked, defeated as he glanced over at Wolf. He was clenching and unclenching his jaw, probably trying not to go off on Pepper again.

Pepper smirked, an ugly sight coming from someone normally so dignified. "So you, and Wolf for that matter, don't get in the way of my plans. It's as simple as that," he stated as if it was no big deal at all.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Wolf asked, his anger under a little more control. "What kind of plan are you talking about? What happened to the good general of the Lylat Wars, old man?" The lupine sounded genuinely confused and hurt, emotion pouring out that he'd probably kept bottled up for a while.

Pepper frowned at him, lowering his sunglasses. "Ah, you're so naive. There never was a 'good' general. There's only been a general that needed his own goals accomplished, and using Star Fox as a blind puppet to destroy Andross was my greatest accomplishment." He crossed his arms defensively. "How does it feel to have the curtain removed, Fox? You think you can gift people hope, but in the end, you are careless, your mistakes lay bare, and you must be punished for your recklessness. You can't trust anyone now, not the Cornerians, not me, not Wolf. Where will you turn?" The bloodhound asked, another smug grin on his face.

"Shut up, Pepper," Fox whispered, wishing he could cover his ears and block everything out. None of this could be true, the General was just toying with him; nobody was evil at all! Pepper was just being controlled by someone… something. That had to be the answer.

But in his heart, he knew it wasn't.

"In due time, you shall see, and you'll know the truth. I think keeping my plan a secret and keeping you from knowing what happened will prove to be more entertaining than I thought," the bloodhound remarked, walking over to the two and pushing them towards the doorway. He opened it and tossed them out of the office, telling the soldiers to take them to the cell block located within the command center.

As the men started escorting the two mercenaries, Fox dimly heard the door shut behind them and he blinked, too shocked to say anything. Pepper was… he was insane. He was using Fox's team for his own goals; they had never done anything truly heroic, excluding destroying the aparoids. And the vulpine was in the way of Pepper? He thought he had been fighting for him in the start, when the Venomians attacked again.

But Wolf said they were content with peace, until Pepper assaulted them, not the other way around. What the hell had happened in that month?

Before Fox realized, he and Wolf's cuffs had been removed and they were tossed into a cell, the metal door sliding shut behind them. He flexed his working hand, looking at the surroundings. The place was small, completely made of metal except for a window on the cell door and on the back wall. There were two- surprisingly real- cots suspended on either wall, and a toilet and sink in the back of the room. The vulpine sighed, sitting on the cot on the left wall. Wolf sat next to him, wringing his hands.

"What happened to him, Wolf? Every time I ever spoke to Pepper, he never was like… that. He wasn't ever cold or cruel," Fox murmured, scratching his head in thought.

"I don't know why he suddenly decided to turn against you, but maybe he's always been like that?" Wolf huffed in frustration. "I don't know, maybe he just put on an act every time you two talked."

Fox had to admit, that did make a disturbing amount of sense, as much as he didn't want to believe it. "Why does it feel like I shouldn't trust you? You've done nothing but help me, and yet Pepper said you weren't to be trusted. Why do I have these doubts?" He asked, frustration bubbling at the surface of his mind, like oxygen floating to the surface of a pond.

"The first question is why would you trust Pepper after he's shown and told you what he's done? We've been fighting together for nearly a month now, and I thought I could call you my…" the lupine trailed off, looking away.

"What? What is it?" Fox questioned, immediately feeling guilty about doubting him.

"Friend," Wolf whispered, his voice cracking. "I thought I could call you my friend, after everything we went through, but now you don't remember. I'm trying to help you, give you someone to trust. Just try to trust me, please," he pleaded, looking at Fox with hurt and sadness in his eyes.

The vulpine saw nothing but honesty and concern for him in that face, and it startled him. Wolf really was so much more different from that gruff and cold pilot he'd squared off against all those years ago. He nodded, and relief flooded across Wolf's face.

"Thank you," he whispered, embracing Fox tightly. Caught off guard, the vulpine wasn't sure how to handle the hug, but he hesitantly returned the gesture as best he could with a broken limb, finding solace and comfort in Wolf's arms.

"We'll get out of here, and we'll find the truth, I know it," Fox murmured into Wolf's ear, newfound determination in his voice.

However Pepper was trying to trick him by playing mind games, it wasn't going to work. If he just trusted Wolf, he would be fine. He had to have faith.

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the very late update. School has been kicking my ass with finals, and I was also working on a gift fic for a Secret Santa with some of my friends. I may or may not post it after we exchange gifts, we'll see. Regardless, this story isn't getting updated as frequently as I'd like, but there isn't much I can do to rectify that right now. Just bear with me for a while, please.


	5. Find Our Way Home

There was nothing but a huge, bright blue ocean surrounding him for miles. It extended endlessly into the horizon, and Fox was floating aimlessly right in the middle of it. He wasn't really sure what to do, except stare up at the sky. It was the same color as the water, giving him a feeling of being submerged, even though he knew he wasn't. Nothing really seemed to change, and he felt achingly lonely. He needed someone to be with him.

The vulpine called out into the sapphire void, hoping someone, anyone, would hear him, but he got no answer except the echo of his forlorn voice.

"Drowning is the better alternative here, isn't it?" Fox asked nobody in particular. He turned over and allowed himself to sink into the water, will escaping his body as he sunk to the depths of the ocean. Breath slowly crept away from him, and he closed his eyes one last time.

Well, it would've been the last time, had something massive not just cleaved a tear in the ocean itself, turning Fox's death by drowning into a death by freefall. He screamed, hands in front of his face, but he never hit the ground like he expected. Something had grabbed onto the scruff of his neck and was holding him there. He felt an ancient force radiating around him, and when he turned his head to get a look at what caught him, he gasped.

"Kr- Krazoa?" Fox asked quietly, not really comprehending what he was truly seeing.

If he was expecting a response, he got none, and the being simply dropped him into the bottomless crevasse once more. He cried out in fear, knowing he was about to die and get flattened under the surface of an ocean-

* * *

And Fox shot off of his cot, yelling as he fell to the floor and feeling the leftover adrenaline from his dream.

"Fox? W- what's wrong?" Wolf mumbled tiredly, getting out of his own cot and helping him up, Fox's legs trembling. He kept a hand on the tall lupine's shoulder, the other on his throbbing forehead.

"Another nightmare? How many of these am I going to have?" He asked himself, growling. Wolf looked at him questioningly, and Fox sighed.

"What was it about? What did you see?" Wolf questioned, his jowls turned down in a frown. Fox sat on his cot, and Wolf joined him.

Taking a breath, the vulpine began to explain the last two dreams he'd had, and that they were giving him an odd sinking feeling, like they were foretelling some apocalypse not far in the future. Wolf had a slightly fearful look on his face, something that Fox had never seen before.

"The Saurians, they'd been sending distress calls recently, but we weren't…" Wolf trailed off, biting his claws in thought. "And there was something, whispers of the Krazoa in the outer planets, but what could it mean?"

Fox's eyes widened, yet another revelation on the cusp of being unveiled. "Whoa, you better start explaining, because you know damn well I have no idea what you're talking about!" He exclaimed, finger jabbing into the other canine's chest accusingly.

He pushed the finger away, and took a breath. "I didn't think it needed explaining because I thought it wasn't important, just some civilian superstition." Wolf looked to the cold floor, twiddling his thumbs. "There were rumors of the Krazoa on Sauria… moving to other planets and doing things to people's minds. Krystal suspected something was up, but nobody bothered to believe her, including me. The dinosaurs were scared, but we didn't have time to deal with it," he explained, that dread on his face again.

"So what are you trying to tell me, Wolf?" Fox pushed, fear rising up in his chest and clawing it's way through the rest of his body, his fur standing on end.

Wolf touched Fox's hand gingerly. "I'm trying to tell you that if those dreams confirm Krystal's hypothesis, the end of the Lylat System itself could be drawing close with this war. Something… big is about to occur, and it's going to end us," he said, his fingers curling around Fox's hand and tightening in terror.

Fox didn't know what to say, or think, or do… it was a bit too big of a concept to handle. The Krazoa were preparing to do something to destroy the Lylat System? What the ever-loving hell happened in that month?

The vulpine leaned into Wolf's side, needing something to anchor him into the real world, else he become lost in his mind and in horrifying paths, like when one thinks of the concept of death and immortality and horrifies themself, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep forever. He couldn't stop shaking, but Wolf wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and for once, Fox was glad of his strange behavior.

"We need to get out of here, and we have to find out what is happening to our system, and my team," Fox whispered fiercely, grasping Wolf's hand tighter than before.

"Of course, Fox. I'm with you to the end," he replied, his deep voice rumbling through Fox's body.

"What was my team doing in that month? What kind of stuff was Slippy up to?" Fox asked timidly, trying to take his mind off of the Krazoa for a little bit.

"Well, he had a hunch about some technology Space Dynamics was trying to keep under wraps, like travel between different solar systems using… wormholes and instant-something travel, and he was trying to replicate the tech, but he hasn't had a breakthrough yet. Falco had some theories about Cornerian activity with the Orbital Gate to the aparoid homeworld, like that it was secretly still active and the military was using it to send scientists to the planet. Krystal had her conspiracies about the Krazoa, and Peppy was entertaining it all. A part of me thinks they're all connected somehow," Wolf relayed, leaning against the wall. Fox gave a weak half-smile, glad to hear his team was the same as always. How he missed them and their antics.

How he missed his family.

"That's good. I'll have to talk to them when we get out of here." When, not if. When they escaped.

"How are we going to get out of here? There's no weak point in this cell, that glass is bulletproof, and there's high security in the whole building. We're stuck," Wolf pointed out, much to Fox's chagrin.

"There has to be a way. We'll find one when the guards escort us to another meeting with Pepper, or maybe one of the soldiers will take pity on us and commit treason, or..." the vulpine trailed off, sighing and realizing just how bleak their chances were at escape.

"Let's hope one of those possibilities happens." Wolf sighed, and the two settled next to each other, neither really wanting to feel alone at that moment.

It was moments like those when Fox wished he was a normal, ignorant civilian living an average life. He wouldn't really have to fear anything, and he could live in complacency for his entire life, sure, but then he wouldn't have met his team and found his purpose in flying. He wouldn't have met Wolf, he supposed, as strange as the thought was. The lupine made things different.

After an unknown amount of silence, Wolf reluctantly got up, stating that he had to take a piss, and Fox moved to lay down on the cot, staring up at the ceiling and giving the lupine as much privacy as was possible.

Fox was scared. He didn't know what his team was up to, or why they hadn't rescued him and Wolf on Fortuna. They hadn't been crashed for very long, so why didn't they come? He had to get out of this prison and get answers, because Pepper certainly wasn't going to give them up.

He looked to his makeshift splint, and wished he could get his hands on some tech to mend the bone faster. Apparently Pepper didn't feel like repairing the limb was a priority, or just a waste of time. Whatever the case, he at least wished he could get a better quality cast.

Fox heard the sound of someone pounding on the door a moment later, most likely a guard, and got up, with a grunt. He heard the sound of a zipper being pulled up, and he glanced over to see Wolf finished, a curious look directed at the cell door. The vulpine shrugged, and set his working arm on his hip, standing in front of it.

The door opened with a soft hiss. "Alright, I'm supposed to give you two dudes your meal… o- oh," the voice of none other than Bill Grey stammered, his normally cheerful face turned into a frown, and then an expression of horror. Luckily, there was nobody else with him.

"Bill?" Fox whispered, his eyes widening. Maybe they would have a chance of escape after all, if the dog was on their side, that is.

"I didn't know Pepper caught you, nobody told me who was here, dude- is that Wolf O'Donnell?" He asked, glancing over Fox's shoulder.

He nodded. "What's going on, why are you still in the military? Pepper's insane!" The vulpine exclaimed, hand on his head fur.

"You think I don't know that, dude? I'm trying to gather as much intel as I can before I go AWOL, but now I might have to cut that time short," Bill murmured.

"You'll help us escape?" Fox questioned, hope in his eyes.

"I will, I promise, dude. First, though, I have to figure out how. I'll make sure to bring you two all of your meals, and keep you up to date on what I've found. Give me some time, and I'll make this work," the dog assured with a grin, handing two trays of food to Fox.

"Thank you, and I'll explain everything when I can, as well," he stated, glad to finally have seen another familiar and friendly face.

"I hate to cut this short, I know you've got a million questions, but I have to go, got patrol in five. I will get you guys out soon, I promise!" Bill exclaimed, giving them a thumbs up before closing the door and leaving the two mercenaries alone again.

Fox closed his eyes. "Thank you, Bill, for being here," he whispered, glad to have been a victim of circumstance for once.

"Who the hell was that?" Wolf asked from behind him, confusion evident in his voice. He laughed, turning to face his companion. He shoved a tray into his arms, which held artificial beef, a roll, and some questionable looking mashed potatoes, as well as a mug of water.

"An old friend from my Academy days," Fox answered, sitting down on his cot, cutting a piece of the beef with a fork and taking a bite. It didn't taste awful; at least Pepper had the decency not to starve his prisoners. "His name is Bill Grey, and I trust him with my life. You have no idea how glad I am to see his face."

Wolf sat across from him. "Well, I'm glad you're happy about all of this, but I'm not so sure. You don't know that he could be tricking us, that he's working under direct orders from Pepper. The General is unstable as hell, who knows what he's got planned," he pointed out, shoving his fork at Fox to emphasize his statement.

Fox frowned, slightly hurt. "Bill has a sharp mind, he knows when something is wrong. I'm sure we can trust him, besides, this might be the only chance we have at escaping and figuring everything out," he replied, kicking his legs.

"If you say so, Fox. I'll trust your judgement, since it's done me well so far," Wolf said, contemplative stare on his face as he looked at Fox for a little too long. The orange canid looked down to his food, unnerved by the statements his companion made.

The two finished their meal in troubled silence, Fox taking a glance out of the window on the back wall every so often. He could really only see a little more of the military base, a few barracks and an airfield filled with fighters. Freedom was so close, yet so far away, he noted with a sigh.

He couldn't tell the time, either, but if he had to guess it was sometime in the afternoon. Fox wondered if Pepper would take them somewhere the next day, or if he would just let them rot in that cell forever, oblivious to the troubles of the outside world. Whatever his plan was, it didn't matter, for Bill would save them.

Fox really hoped Bill could get them out of prison.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, late update as per usual. Hope you liked the chapter, though, because I had a fun time writing it. Also, thanks to a buddy on my Discord server for looking the chapter over and giving feedback!


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